North Face 2000 Annual Report Download - page 13

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George Derhofer
VP and Chairman –
Imagewear Coalition
Lee Sport
Chase Authentics*
CSA
Red Kap
Bulwark Protective
Apparel
Penn State Textile
Fibrotek
Horace Small
Professional Apparel
VF Solutions
*Licensed
In workwear, we’ve added many
new products and customers. For years
our core business consisted primarily
of supplying work apparel to industrial
laundries. Today, our customer base has
expanded to include FedEx, BellSouth,
Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines
and American Airlines, in addition to
the National Park Service, Immigration
and Naturalization Services and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We’ll
be launching a number of catalog web
sites for our customers, giving more
than 300,000 of their employees the
convenience of shopping and paying
for their career apparel via the Internet.
What Lies Ahead
There’s a world of opportunity waiting
to be tapped through our new coali-
tion. However, in 2001 our focus will
be on improving the bottom line.
Our profitability dropped in 2000 as
we struggled to integrate workwear
companies acquired in 1998 and 1999.
The addition of several new product
categories added complexity to our
business, which was exacerbated by
systems issues that disrupted manufac-
turing and deliveries. We assembled a
first-rate team to attack the problems,
and they’ve made enormous progress.
Late in 2000 we announced that we
would exit the linens and specialty
catalog businesses. These and other
actions make me confident we’ll see a
significant improvement in profitability
in 2001.
Imagewear
is on its way as a single-source for customized
workwear and licensed apparel.”
“
The big news in 2000: the formation
of VF Imagewear. By combining
our former Workwear and Knitwear
coalitions, we’ve become a force to be
reckoned with in the large, fragmented
market for corporate and work apparel.
Imagewear builds on our strength
as a leading provider of workwear
and customized uniforms, branded
casual knitwear products, and licensed
sports apparel.
The groundwork for creating VF
Imagewear actually began a few years
ago when it became clear we could
leverage our sourcing and brands to
provide a broader array of casual
products backed by terrific service
capabilities. Over the past several years,
we’ve added denim shirts, knit golf
shirts, sweaters and outerwear under
the Lee label. More recently, we’ve
extended our offerings to include
products under the Wrangler, JanSport,
Gitano and The North Face brands.
Making Inroads in the Sports Arena
In 2000, our licensed sports division
handled its biggest special event ever as
the supplier of World Series locker
room shirts. Proving our ability to turn
on a dime, we got product to market
less than 24 hours after the playoffs
ended. We’re proud of our position as
one of the top providers of licensed
apparel to all four professional sports
leagues and NASCAR.